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Search in Book Reviews

The ACCU passes on review copies of computer books to its members for them to review.
The result is a large, high quality collection of book reviews by programmers, for programmers.
Currently there are 1918 reviews in the database and more every month.
Search is a simple string search in either book title or book author. The full text search
is a search of the text of the review.

I have heard it said that 'common sense' is one of the rarest of
commodities. I think there is some truth in that so do not misunderstand me
when I say that this book is full of good common sense. In addition it is
written in highly readable English.

The nine chapters cover most considerations when programming (as distinct from
analysis and design). Alongside chapters on style and notation (I think the
Harpist will love those) we have chapters on debugging and testing.

I have only one reservation with this book, I question whether the authors have
actually read all the books they list as suitable for supplementary reading.
(For example did they really read and approve of Steve Maguire'sWriting Solid Code? Certainly it is a book that would
improve the average programmer's code but at a cost of making it harder for them
to improve further - see 'Deconstructuing Solid Code' C Vu 7.5)
Perhaps that one is an aberration. In my younger days I held that book in
higher regard than I do now. In most cases the titles listed for supplementary
reading are ones that I hold in high regard.

Pick up a copy, choose any chapter and start reading. I think you will then
feel motivated to buy yourself a copy, though you might pretend that it was to
give to some pestilential colleague whose code was always unreadable, bug-ridden
and untested.

Whatever language you program in I think you will benefit from reading this book
(even if for some rare readers it is just a warm feeling of having been doing
the right things all along).